keithisme

I have a 2005 LS430 with the sport package. The tires are 18". I have two options that I am considering.

1. Buy 18" snow tires. The prices are high, and the selection is limited. A set of four Blizzak LM-60 is $1000, and I would still have to mount them. Michelins Aplin would be $100 more.

2. Buy 17" snow tires and rims from Tire Rack. The selection and prices are lower for 17". A set of ExtremeWinterContact with low end alloy wheels would run $1100 shipped. A little over $100 more for Michelin Alpins.

Do any of you have recommendations?

caddyowner

Welcome! On my 05, I have 18" chrome wheels for summer and 17" 01 LS430 painted silver wheels for winter. I have Michelin Xice2 winter tires that grip like mad, but are rather noisy and soft on dry pavement. The Pilot Alpins are a bit firmer and quieter, but I had them on an MKZ and thought they didn't grip as well.

Be very careful about finding winter wheels that will clear the LS430 front brake calipers. (That's one of the reasons I searched out and bought a set of 01 LS wheels.)

The LS430 is a great car to have two sets of wheels for since the TPMS is not pressure-sensor based and you don't have to reprogram the system (lowering and raising the pressure in each tire) with each change. Belle Tire has a program where they will store your wheels/tires in their warehouse, clean them, and deliver them back to your Belle Tire store for mounting when you call. I have a set of Xice2 waiting to be mounted on my Prius next week and will swap the wheels / tires on my LS after Thanksgiving.

V8_Fan

I just got my winter wheels...ended up buying a second set of OEM 18's and mounting Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3's (about $1260 w/ road hazard warranty after mounting/balancing). My first choice were the X-ice2's, but they have been discontinued. Your only choice now for a dedicated snow tire are the Bridgestone Blizzaks or Pilot Alpin PA3's. From the Tirerack reviews, the Blizzaks are better in hardcore snow/ice conditions and worse on dry pavement while the Michelin's aren't quite as good as the blizzaks in snow but are far better on dry pavement. I elected to get the Michelin's since most of my driving is on dry pavement, but we occasionally get hit by a big storm. For me, the $3K for a set of wheels and tires is still far cheaper than buying a used 4x4 that I only need 3x/year.

I had a balancing issue on mine since I had the tires mounted on the wheels w/o providing the vehicle, so they couldn't test drive it. They ended up adding some inside weights in addition to the glue-on ones. Ride-wise, they are slightly noisier than my summer tires and a hair tad less smooth, but I'm told that's to be expected with snow tires. Cornering is on-par with my street tires. The rubber is softer and stickier, so I expect fuel economy to be (a guess as I haven't put a full tank of gas on them) 10% less. From reading reviews, snow tires, in general, have thinner, softer sidewalls (more mushy cornering), and the tread patterns can be as noisy as an offroad tire. After all, they are designed to provide traction in snow, not to be quiet or perform like a street tire. It's all trade-offs in the end. Pick the one that fits your daily driving the best. Had I lived near the Great Lakes and had to contend with lake effect snow like I did back in the 90's, I would recommend the Blizzaks or Nokians if you can get them in your size, plus I would have gone with 17" wheels instead.

Mofoe

i would say go with another set of wheels for snows. i'm getting my snows mounted on my stockers next week.

V8_Fan

I got my extra set of 18's from Sewell Lexus using the ClubLexus discount. Each 18" wheel came out to only like $20 more than the 17's, as the set of 18's includes the center caps.

Stu

I live in Canada and we get losts of snow, ice and roads of all sorts. My car has 18 for the summer, and 17 during the winter. Last winter I didn't have any problems.
The car came with Firestone Winterforce tires, which is a brand I'd never even consider buying, (these came with the car) but they do the job very, very well. I used to buy expensive Michelin tires, even for winter use, but since I have slowed down and drive more carefully, I don't feel the need for performance winter tires. I bought Conti ExtremeContact DWS for the summer, winter and fall.

Kansas

Don't forget "Option 3": the 225/60-16 size that was standard on the 2001-2002 LS430. I bought a set of Bizzak WS70 in that size at Costco a year ago at $96.49 per tire. And perhaps look for a set of used 01-02 16" LS430 wheels - there was a set on local Craigslist a few months ago for $200 ... seller said they were "like new" but I didn't look at them.

I squeezed seven winters (25,000 miles) out the Bizzak WS50 snow tires I used before the WS70's but they were not nearly as effective in their final year. Neither the WS50 or my current WS70 seem much louder than the Michelin MXV4 all season tires I am now using the rest of the year.

I've used snow tires for 21 consecutive winters on Lexus LS cars. The "certified" (Mountain/snowflake logo) tires widely available the last ten years or so make a rear wheel drive LS just plain fun to drive in snow.

jfz219

2004 calipers will not clear 16" wheels. Blizzak and Michelin Ice2 tires are great on ice. My LS430 has Dunlap 3s. They are good in deep snow, dry pavement, warmer weather (Florida trips), but not nearly as good on ice.

For newer cars with TPMS, the OEM sensor IDs can be cloned to your second set of wheels, eliminating the need to reprogram the car's ECU.

Kansas

I'm confused. I've seen 2001-02 16" wheels used with snow tires on 04-06 LS430's and others on this forum, including forum moderator AlexusAnja, have reported doing it: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...in-wheels.html

AlexusAnja

I have the 2002 LS430 16" wheels and they clear the calipers as much as the 17" do. I will post pics for "proof" of this... not that I really need to, I've been doing this for 3 years now. I had Bridgestone Blizzaks on my LS430 on the 16" for the firs three years, drove it during the winters and the handle quite well in my opinion for non-studded tires. The drove louder than the ContiProContact all-seasons in 17" that I had. After three seasons, I finally replaced out the Blizzaks. I installed Michelin Primacy on the 16" figuring that I was not driving in snow that much even with the Blizzaks (I baby my baby) so I wanted an even softer ride on my LS. Now I have the 17" sitting waiting to see what to put on those.

In my opinion, you don't want to put big bulky wheels with snow tires, you want to go smaller (say 16") and put less expensive snow tires on. 19"+ wheels look nice, but no one expects the tires to be like $300+ a piece. The Primacy i got for my 16" were $150, installed, the same tire in 18" for my MDX $100 more.

jfz219

2004 was a mid-cycle refresh for the LS430. The front brake calipers are a tight fit with the base 17" wheel of that year. Several vendors have warned that 16" wheels have a clearance problem in spite of similar offsets and lug patterns. Result, OEM 2004-2006 17 and 18" wheels do just fine on 2001-2003 cars, but 16" wheels don' t fit over the 2004-07 front disc brakes.

I agree that cost and winter performance can be better with a minus-one setup. If 18" wheels and tires are available at comparable prices, I would consider the choice and not worry about ride or traction degradation.

AlexusAnja

That might be true for aftermarket 16" wheels. I don't think there are many, if any right now new, that will fit the LS430 in 16". The OEM 16" however will fit across the line from '01-'06. Here is my LS now with the 16" from 2002. Should have cleaned the car for the shoot, but it's clean enough the wheels...

LEXUSGUY03

I had the hardest time looking for wheels and tires for my 01 430. I work at a tire shop so i was able to try different wheels and send them back if they did not fit. The x factor on alot of wheels will not work with our 430's. i tried a 16" and 17" and the calipers were to big for the wheels. I finally settled on a set of used 2006 gs300 awd wheels. They work perfect. I went with the Michelin X-Ice XI2's and love them. very great ride and actually fairly quiet still waiting for snow here in minnesota so we will see how they perform. Hope this helps

Ty419

I use a set of aftermarket 17's that look like the factory 5-spoke wheel and Blizzaks in that size. They seem to work fine.

LucidSnow

i would recommend blizzak or toyo observe g02 plus... i have the toyos and driving up to snowboarding isnt a problem